Creative England and UK bank Barclays have teamed up to launch an accelerator program offering up to £25,000 in investment.

The Eagle Lab Flight program will see eight small business secure funding directly from Barclays.

Companies selected will take part in a three month residency in Brighton where they will be given support from advisors and experts from across the technology world.

While not strictly for games, the program is looking for "strong digital-based ideas" such as mobile apps, "gamification", VR, and AR.

Companies must have a working prototype or minimum viable product to show investors. They must also present a "strong business case", and must have two or more partners with a stake in the business.

More than before

Following the event mentoring period, the selected companies can secure up to £50,000 in additional funding from Creative England and other levels of investment from angel investors that they will be pitching to.

There is a catch, however. 5% of any investment secured will be taken for legal fees, and participants must put up £3,125 as a "participation fee" to Creative England to cover the cost of the accelerator.

Applications close on December 31st, and the program will run from March 6th 2017 until May 26th 2017. Those interested in applying can find out more on Barclay's website.